Emergency hand control device for the raising and lowering of automobile door windows



2 Sheets-Sheet "1 FIG.4

Sept. 17, E. ALLARIA EMERGENCY HAND CONTROL DEVICE FOR THE RAISING AND LOWERING OF AUTOMOBILE DOOR WINDOWS Filed April 12. 1961 Sept. 17, 1963 E. ALLARIA 3,103,330

EMERGENCY HAND CONTROL DEVICE FOR THE RAISING AND LOWERING OF AUTOMOBILE DOOR WINDOWS Filed April 12, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.8

INVENTOR.

I United States Patent 3,103,836 EMERGENCY HAND CQNTREIL DEVIQE F011 THE RAIEEING AND LQWERING OF AUTGMGBILE 110GB WINDOW Eugenio Ailaria, Sesto San Giovanni, Milan, Italy, assignor to Fahhrica Italiana Magneti Marelli S.p.A., Milan, Italy, a corporation of litaly Filed Apr. 12, 1961, Ser. No. 1ll2,415 Claims priority, application Italy Apr. 12, 1960 2 Claims. (Cl. 74--625) The present invention refers to a particular association between a hand control device, and a motor driven device for the raising and lowering of door windows in automobile vehicles.

The device which is the object of the present invention is of the type described in another patent specification of the same applicant and comprising, together with an electric motor, which by means of a reducer unit formed by a worm drive and helical wheel operates a pinion meshed with a toothed section coupled to the window movement lever, engaging and disengaging means of said pinion with the shaft of the reducing unit, cooperating with respectively disengaging and engaging means of said pinion with the manual operating device.

In the commonly known device, the transfer of the motor drive control to hand operated control occurs with the axial movement of the pinion engaged in the toothed section, and for which reason the operation of engaging the normal emergency control requires a certain amount of force depending not only on the sliding friction, but also on the resilient reaction of the return spring dimensioned on the basis of said friction.

The present invention refers to an improvement in the hand openated emergency control device for the raising of automobile door windows, and due to such improvement the following advantages are obtained:

(a) Elimination of the axial movement of the toothed sector pinion.

(b) Extremely simple construction.

(0) Minimum overall space requirements in the depth of the door destined to contain the window in its interior.

(d) The possibility of employing a removable or nonremov-able handle which does not rotate during the normal functioning.

The device in accordance with the present invention is substantially chanacterized by the fact that it comprises a shaft for the manual control combined with two engaging and disengaging elements, the first destined to engage (disengage) said shaft with respect to the kinematic window raising and lowering element, and the second destined to engage (disengage) the reducing unit moved member operated by the motor in respect of said kinematic element; the two operations being achieved by one single axial movement of the shaft of the manual control.

The attached drawing shows a preferred arrangement of the device according to the present invention, and is given purely for the purposes of example, and is not limitative to the scope of the invention.

FIGURES 1 and 2 show an axial section of the device in the positions corresponding respectively to motor and hand operation.

FIGURE 3 shows a section view of a variant to the device shown in FIGURES l and 2.

FIGURES 4 and 5 show in section view the .two different positions of the engaging and disengaging element of the motor control.

FIGURE 6 is an axial View of a variant to the construction arrangement of the device.

FIGURE 7 also shows in axial view another variant to the construction arrangement of the device.

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attached to or lodged in the shaft of the electric motor drive; 5 indicates the helical toothed wheel couple-d to said worm screw, and freely mounted with its hub 6 on an enlarged part of shaft 1.

Shaft 1 is bored and in its interior can axially run a control shaft or pin 7 for the manual control furnished with a suitably shaped portion 7', and normally maintained in a given position which is axial to the action of a return spring 8.

This latter resting on one side on a closure bottom 9 solid with shaft or bushing 1, and on the other side resting' on control shaft or pin 7, inserts itself into a recess 10 of this latter and the extremity of which presents a flange 11 to abut against the arrest elements 12.

In its enlarged section, shaft 1 is provided with a diametrical hole 13 forming radial openings in which are located two balls 14, having the function of engagement and disengagement between the helical toothed wheel 5 and the hollow shaft 1. On the internal surface of the bore of wheel 5 are located two diametrically opposite notches 15 which function as notches matching the coupling balls and constituting coupling means with the same.

Pin 7 protrudes from shaft 1, at the pinion 3 side, and on its polygonal extremity is fitted a winding handle 16 fixed by screw 17.

Pinion 3 has axially projecting coupling fingers 18 preferably comprised of prolongations of the teeth of said pinion.

The handle 16 also is equipped with axially projecting coupling fingers 19, which are complementary in shape to that of the pinion and for the purpose of coupling with these latter; said projecting coupling fingers 18 and 19 constitute a coupling.

In normal conditions, shaft 7, due to the action of spring 8 is located in the position shown in FIGURE 1.

The spheres 14, rest on the external surface of greater diameter of pin 7, and each is seated with its external part in one of the notches 15 and draws along shaft 1, which driven by wheel 5, transmits motion to the toothed section by means of pinion 3.

Under these conditions, the handle 16 remains stationary as it is disengaged by the pinion.

In cases of emergency an axial force is made upon the handle 16, and the coupling fingers 19 (FIG. 2) are made to mesh with the corresponding coupling fingers '18 of pinion 3.

Shaft 7 is thrust against the action of spring 8 and its groove or notch 7' is brought to the position of the diametrical hole 13, in such a manner that the balls 14 rest on the bottom of the groove or notch, and are distanced away from the notches 15 of wheel 5 (FIG. 5).

This latter therefore is disengaged from shaft 1, which is free to rotate along with the handle.

Shaft 1, for the transmission of motion to the window can be equipped with a pulley (20) (instead of pinion 3) and which pulley by means of flexible transmission can operate the lever system which moves the window.

Taking into consideration the variant shown in FIG. 6 where the same parts are distinguished by the same numbers; the handle 16:: for the manual operation is solidly connected to a shaped drive shaft 22( for example with a square section or other shape) which protrades axially with a tang 23 terminating with a pin 23 of reduced diameter. This latter lodges in an axial hole located in shaft 7a (which in this case does not protrude to carry the handle as previously described).

The shaped part of the shaft 22 of the handle is housed in the drilled transmission shaft 1a and is twist fitted to same by means of shape 24 (see FIG. 8) married to that of the shaft 22, and which is presented by the most external portion of shaft 1a.

In order to carry out the manual operation, the handle is thrust downwards in such a manner as to axially move shaft 7a in contrast to the action of spring 8 (FIG. 9) to reach the position shown in FIGURE 6, and thus freeing the kinematic elements of the motor drive, and that is to say the balls 14a from the control shaft 1a.

When the emergency manual control is not required, the handle 16:: may be removed to eliminate the space it occupies in the inside of the vehicle.

The variant shown in FIG. 7 shows a holding spring element of the handle 16 in the operating shaft 1b in such a manner as to offer a certain resistance to accidental unthreading of the handle.

In the example illustrated, the retaining spring element is constituted by a small sphere lodged in a padial blind hole in the cylindrical part 23b of the handle shaft, and influenced by a spring 22b located in the bottom of said hole. Sphere 25 is prevented from outletting by means of a deformation given to the peripheral external edge of the housing hole.

In FIGURE 7, the handle is shown in the manual control position of the device. By moving the handle towards the left (that is to say in the opposite direction to that made by the force of spring 8 in FIG. 1 and which acts axially on shaft 7b when in the motor control positions) the shaped part of shaft 22b is freed from the shaped part 24b of the drive shaft 1b, and therefore the handle remains idle. The small sphere 25 resting on the internal border 27 (-FIG. 8) of the shaped part 24 of shaft 1b prevents the complete outletting of the handle.

This latter however can be completely removed by forcing it axially towards the left in such a manner as to make the sphere 25 return into its housing hole against the spring 26.

In FIG. 8 the pinion which collaborates with the toothed section 36 has two discoida-l protrusions 28 and 29 on its two extreme faces and which protrude beyond the teeth. These projections have the purpose of preventing section 30 (especially if this is made in sheet metal) to move axially over the normal pre-estabiished distance. One or both of these discoidal projections can be made from shaped Washers or from the pinion if this has been made from die casting, moulded, or by partial fusion and compression.

In the example illustrated, the most external discoisdal element 28, in correspondence with the hole for the introduotion of shaft 10 has a circular housing 32. This housing has the purpose of radially holding a ring 33 (or two half rings), which in combination with a circular groove located in shaft 10 creates the axial shoulder for pinion 30. In this manner ring 33 (or the two half rings) cannot accidentally slip. A plate spring 31 located between the internal discoidal element 29, and the body of the 6 device maintains the three parts 28, 29, and 3c established against the shoulder ring 33, and also allows for fitting the pinion onto the shaft by acting axially against the action of spring 31.

I claim:

1. In a transmission apparatus for operating an output means either by a motor or by manual force, in combination, a drive means adapted to be driven from a motor; an output means including a gear turnable about an axis and having teeth and coupling fingers fixedly secured to said gear and axially projecting from the same; means for connecting said drive means and said output means and including coupling means having a coupling position and a disengaged position; and manually operated means including a control member for operating said coupling means and having coupling fingers located opposite said coupling fingers of said output means, said manually operated means being movable between a first position in which said control member places said coupling means in said disengaged position and said coupling fingers posi tively engage and interlock with each other, and a second position in which said control member places said coupling means in said coupling position and said coupling fingers are spaced and disengaged from each other so that in said first position said drive means is disconnected from said output means while said coupling fingers directly transfer a manually applied force to said output means.

2. In a transmission apparatus for operating a device for raising and lowering automobile windows either by a motor or by manual force, in combination a drive means adapted to be driven from a motor and having an axis of rotation; a rotary output means adapted to be connected to said device, said output means being co-axial with said drive means and including a spur gear turnable about an axis and having teeth and coupling fingers integral with said teeth and axially projecting from the same; a bushing fixed to said output means and supporting said drive means for free rotation, said bushing having at least one radial opening; at least one coupling ball in said opening having a coupling position engaging said drive means and a disengaged position; and manually operated means including a handle having coupling fingers located opposite said coupling fingers of said output means, and a control shaft located in said bushing and having control means for shifting said coupling ball be tween said coupling position and said disengaged position, said manually operated means being axially movable between a first position in which said control shaft and control means place said coupling ball in said disengaged position and said coupling fingers positively engage and interlock with each other, and a second position in which said control shaft and control means place said coupling balls in said coupling position and said coupling fingers are spaced and disengaged from each other; and spring means urging said manually operated means to said second position so that by manual axial shifting of said manually operated means from said second position to said first position said drive means is disconnected from said output means while said coupling fingers directly transfer a manually applied turning force from said handle to said output means.

Miller June 29, 1926 Kling Dec. 4, 1956 

1. IN A TRANSMISSION APPARATUS FOR OPERATING AN OUTPUT MEANS EITHER BY A MOTOR OR BY MANUAL FORCE, IN COMBINA-TION, A DRIVE MEANS ADAPTED TO BE DRIVEN FROM A MOTOR; AN OUTPUT MEANS INCLUDING A GEAR TURNABLE ABOUT AN AXIS AND HAVING TEETH AND COUPLING FINGERS FIXEDLY SECURED TO SAID GEAR AND AXIALLY PROJECTING FROM THE SAME; MEANS FOR CONNECTING SAID DRIVE MEANS AND SAID OUTPUT MEANS AND INCLUDING COUPLING MEANS HAVING A COUPLING POSITION AND A DISENGAGED POSITION; AND MANUALLY OPERATED MEANS INCLUDING A CONTROL MEMBER FOR OPERATING SAID COUPLING MEANS AND HAVING COUPLING FINGERS LOCATED OPPOSITE SAID COUPLING FINGERS OF SAID OUTPUT MEANS, SAID MANUALLY OPERATED MEANS BEING MOVABLE BETWEEN A FIRST POSITION IN WHICH SAID CONTROL MEMBER PLACES SAID COUPLING MEANS IN SAID DISENGAGED POSITION AND SAID COUPLING FINGERS POSITIVELY ENGAGE AND INTERLOCK WITH EACH OTHER, AND A SECOND POSITION IN WHICH SAID CONTROL MEMBER PLACES SAID COUPLING MEANS IN SAID COUPLING POSITION AND SAID COUPLING FINGERS ARE SPACED AND DISENGAGED FROM EACH OTHER SO THAT IN SAID FIRST POSITION SAID DRIVE MEANS IS DISCONNECTED FROM SAID OUTPUT MEANS WHILE SAID COUPLING FINGERS DIRECTLY TRANSFER A MANUALLY APPLIED FORCE TO SAID OUTPUT MEANS. 